The genome sequence of the orchid Phalaenopsis equestris
Caì, Jing; Liu, Xin; Vanneste, Kevin; Proost, Sebastian; Tsai, Wen-Chieh; Liu, Ke-Wei; Chen, Li-Jun; He, Ying; Xu, Qing; Bian, Chao; Zheng, Zhijun; Sun, Fengming; Liu, Weiqing; Hsiao, Yu-Yun; Pan, Zhao-Jun; Hsu, Chia-Chi; Yang, Ya-Ping; Hsu, Yi-Chin; Chuang, Yu-Chen; Dievart, Anne; Dufayard, Jean-Francois; Xu, Xun; Wang, Jun-Yi; Wang, Jun; Xiao, Xin-Ju; Zhao, Xue-Min; Du, Rong; Zhang, Guo-Qiang; Wang, Meina; Su, Yong-Yu; Xie, Gao-Chang; Liu, Guo-Hui; Li, Li-Qiang; Huang, Lai-Qiang; Luo, Yi-Bo; Chen, Hong-Hwa; Van de Peer, Yves; Liu, Zhong-Jian
Date:
2015-01
Abstract:
Orchidaceae, renowned for its spectacular flowers and other reproductive and ecological adaptations, is one of the most diverse
plant families. Here we present the genome sequence of the tropical epiphytic orchid Phalaenopsis equestris, a frequently used
parent species for orchid breeding. P. equestris is the first plant with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) for which the genome
has been sequenced. Our assembled genome contains 29,431 predicted protein-coding genes. We find that contigs likely to be
underassembled, owing to heterozygosity, are enriched for genes that might be involved in self-incompatibility pathways. We find
evidence for an orchid-specific paleopolyploidy event that preceded the radiation of most orchid clades, and our results suggest
that gene duplication might have contributed to the evolution of CAM photosynthesis in P. equestris. Finally, we find expanded
and diversified families of MADS-box C/D-class, B-class AP3 and AGL6-class genes, which might contribute to the highly
specialized morphology of orchid flowers.
